Norah Jones' debut on Blue Note is a mellow, acoustic pop affair with soul and country overtones, immaculately produced by the great Arif Mardin. Jones is not quite a jazz singer, but she is joined by some highly regarded jazz talent: guitarists Adam Levy, Adam Rogers, Tony Scherr, Bill Frisell, and Kevin Breit; drummers Brian Blade, Dan Rieser, and Kenny Wollesen; organist Sam Yahel; accordionist Rob Burger; and violinist Jenny Scheinman…

Holland Baroque presents Minne, an improvised programme inspired by the love poetry of medieval mystic Hadewijch from Brabant. Hadewijch was a 13th-century beguine who wrote an impressive oeuvre of love poetry, providing an original, female perspective on medieval life. For this project, Holland Baroque works together with Bastarda Trio, a folk-jazz group combining the unique sonorities of clarinet, cello and contrabass clarinet. Inspired by medieval poetry, the result is a playful, passionate, truly contemporary album…

Tony Davis is a jazz guitarist with a difference – an artist who's not out to revolutionize his instrument in jazz, but who still finds a way to play with a very distinct approach! Tony's quality isn't easy to put in words – he's not working the fret in a weird way, or using any sort of effects or gimmicks – but he does get a very specific sound out of the instrument, one that's full of shimmering colors and light – often quite chromatic, but usually with a dexterity that might match more sharper-toned musicians!…

Anna Maria Castelli, Charles Rosen, Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di santa Cecilia, G.Comeaux, Gianni Coscia, Marco Fornaciari - Fone Ensemble, New York's Ensemble for Early Music, Renato Sellani, S.Cavalli, S.Pozzer, Salvatore Accardo, V.Di Donato

Mieko Hirota (弘田 三枝子, Hirota Mieko), a Japanese female singer born in Tokyo on February 5, 1947. Died on July 21, 2020. Her nickname is Mico. Due to her dynamic and growing vocal she was also called "queen of pops"…

Enoch Light has become synonymous with the space-age bachelor pad scene of the mid- to late-'50s, owing heavily to long players such as this. However, the reality is that the former Light Brigade leader produced and directed Terry Snyder's loose aggregate of instrumentalists known as the Command All-Stars. What sets the numerous volumes of Provocative Percussion (1958) and Persuasive Percussion (1959) – as well as countless spin-offs – apart from the plethora of other easy listening combos was Light's innovative use of technology…

More Best of the Best: David Manley Jazz Recordings brings listeners a sampler that highlights 8 Jazz Standards from a series of Jazz albums recorded by audio designer and recording engineer David Manley…